Gabriel Hamer Webb Set For Wales Debut As Tandy Shakes Up Side
Gabriel Hamer Webb Set For Wales Debut As Tandy Shakes Up Side
Gabriel Hamer Webb makes his Wales debut, as Steve Tandy reshuffles his side for Scotland, seeking to end a 13-match Six Nations losing streak in Cardiff.
Wales has turned to fresh blood and familiar leadership in an attempt to halt a slide that has defined its recent Six Nations Championship campaigns.
Leicester wing Gabriel Hamer Webb will make his debut against Scotland on Saturday, one of four changes made by head coach Steve Tandy for the third-round clash at Principality Stadium.
Wales is searching for its first Six Nations home win since February 2022 and is attempting to snap a run of 13 straight Championship defeats.
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Hamer Webb, 25, qualifies through his Cardiff-born mother and becomes the 1,221st Wales men’s international.
The Bath-born wing represented England Under 20s earlier in his career and has made eight appearances for Leicester since moving from Cardiff last summer.
He replaces Scarlets wing Ellis Mee in a back three that continues to feature Louis Rees Zammit and Josh Adams.
Tandy said Hamer Webb’s elevation was built on consistency, rather than sentiment.
“Gabe has really impressed me in the way he’s attacked training, the way he’s learnt, the way he’s adapted and the way he’s just settled into the squad,” Tandy said. “His training efforts have been outstanding.
“Then, when you dig into his background at Leicester, even when he wasn’t in the team, everyone said he was an amazing team player. He also kept pushing, he never gave up and then, when he had his Leicester opportunity, he took it with two hands. Now, this opportunity has come up, and it’s thoroughly deserved.”
Sam Costelow is restored at fly-half for his first appearance of this Six Nations Championship, replacing Dan Edwards. The Scarlets playmaker has not featured for Wales since last summer’s loss to Japan in Kitakyushu. Tomos Williams continues at scrumhalf.
In the pack, Ben Carter is preferred to Adam Beard and partners Dafydd Jenkins in the second row for his first Six Nations start. Taine Plumtree comes in at blindside flanker, Alex Mann remains at openside and Aaron Wainwright shifts to No. 8. Olly Cracknell drops out.
Among the replacements, Freddie Thomas, James Botham and Blair Murray are in line for their first appearances of this campaign.
Wales has lost 23 of its last 25 tests, a stark statistic that underscores the scale of the rebuild.
Scotland arrives with momentum after a 31-20 Calcutta Cup victory over England, having responded sharply to an opening-round loss to Italy.
Tandy insisted the changes were both tactical and necessary.
“There are some changes to the team this week," he said. "We feel this is the best team to take on Scotland, and with a six-day turnaround, you want some freshness going into the game.”
For Wales, freshness alone will not be enough. Execution, composure and belief must follow if this new-look side is to shift the narrative.
Wales Team To Face Scotland
Starting XV: 15 Louis Rees Zammit, 14 Gabriel Hamer Webb, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 James Botham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Blair Murray
How To Watch Six Nations 2026
The 2026 Six Nations Championship will be broadcast on different networks all over the world.
If you live in the USA, you can watch the games on Peacock.
- UK: BBC / ITV
- USA: Peacock
- Ireland: RTÉ / Virgin Media
- Wales (Welsh-language): S4C
- France: France Télévisions
- Italy: Sky Sport / NOW (all matches); TV8 (Italy matches free-to-air)
- South Africa: SuperSport
- Australia: Stan Sport
- New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ
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